Practice Makes Perfect...But It Takes Time
Posted in Brandon's Posts, Christian disciplines, practice 0 comments
Have you ever started an activity only to quit after a short time because it seemed too impossible? I'm talking anything:
Learning a new style of dance
Knitting
Crochet
Cricket
Croquet
Running
Learning an instrument
Picking up a new job
ANYTHING.
Often times we become interested in learning something new because we have witnessed someone else performing their trade perfectly. As we watch, in the back of our minds we think, "It would be so cool to be able to do that! I think I'll try to learn."
The problem is, we are left in awe by people who have been doing those things for years and have learned to perfect their art. We are just beginners, and as beginners often are, we are messy, awkward, and down right not any good.
So we get frustrated and we quit.
But we have forgotten something. Most of those people who left us inspired, have been working hard at it a long time and started out just as frustrated and terrible as we currently find ourselves.
Deciding that we are going to live our lives completely sold out for Christ is a big decision. We might make this decision at a big Christian conference or after a great service on Sunday morning.
There may be someone who is leaving a great example for us to follow and we are left inspired by them.
Whatever the case may be, we decide to strive forward and leave our entire way of living behind.
At some point in our journey we realize just how messed up we are. It could be at the very beginning or after a few months. We see how much God is calling us to change. There is so much to take in and we feel like we need to change it all right away.
And that's frustrating.
It seems impossible.
So some people quit.
I'm not saying that everyone completely gives up the Christian name. But some people just opt out of complete change. They pick and choose what they feel are the most important aspects of the Christian walk and just live and teach those. Everything else is just subtitles. It's not as important.
Because the life God seems to be calling us to seems way to impossible and and loving God wouldn't do that to us.
The great news is...it is pretty near impossible!
We can't change all on our own. That's why we need Jesus. Even when we have been living and walking the Christian life for 50 years, there are going to be moments when we mess up and fall. But God extends grace to us.
Something we can do to make this Christian life seem a little more easy is break our change into smaller bites. Take the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. There are seven different fruit listed there, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control." Instead of trying to be all those at once, work on one at a time.
Decide for a couple weeks you are going to be more loving to everyone. At the end of the couple weeks, evaluate and see where you are. Then decide if you want to work exclusively on love for a couple more week or add joy to the mix.
Starting any new project or activity can be frustrating. In order to become great at it though, we must persevere. It is no different with our walk with Christ.
It can seem like an impossible task, but when we break it down in small steps, it is made easier. Even when it seems like you are making no headway, keep pushing on.
Finally, surround yourself with other like-minded individuals (aka, the church). Having other people who are doing this journey with you, helps tremendously.
Decide you are going to live for Christ.
Don't try to change everything all at once.
Surround yourself with others
And persevere.
Learning a new style of dance
Knitting
Crochet
Cricket
Croquet
Running
Learning an instrument
Picking up a new job
ANYTHING.
Often times we become interested in learning something new because we have witnessed someone else performing their trade perfectly. As we watch, in the back of our minds we think, "It would be so cool to be able to do that! I think I'll try to learn."
The problem is, we are left in awe by people who have been doing those things for years and have learned to perfect their art. We are just beginners, and as beginners often are, we are messy, awkward, and down right not any good.
So we get frustrated and we quit.
But we have forgotten something. Most of those people who left us inspired, have been working hard at it a long time and started out just as frustrated and terrible as we currently find ourselves.
Deciding that we are going to live our lives completely sold out for Christ is a big decision. We might make this decision at a big Christian conference or after a great service on Sunday morning.
There may be someone who is leaving a great example for us to follow and we are left inspired by them.
Whatever the case may be, we decide to strive forward and leave our entire way of living behind.
At some point in our journey we realize just how messed up we are. It could be at the very beginning or after a few months. We see how much God is calling us to change. There is so much to take in and we feel like we need to change it all right away.
And that's frustrating.
It seems impossible.
So some people quit.
I'm not saying that everyone completely gives up the Christian name. But some people just opt out of complete change. They pick and choose what they feel are the most important aspects of the Christian walk and just live and teach those. Everything else is just subtitles. It's not as important.
Because the life God seems to be calling us to seems way to impossible and and loving God wouldn't do that to us.
The great news is...it is pretty near impossible!
We can't change all on our own. That's why we need Jesus. Even when we have been living and walking the Christian life for 50 years, there are going to be moments when we mess up and fall. But God extends grace to us.
Something we can do to make this Christian life seem a little more easy is break our change into smaller bites. Take the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. There are seven different fruit listed there, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control." Instead of trying to be all those at once, work on one at a time.
Decide for a couple weeks you are going to be more loving to everyone. At the end of the couple weeks, evaluate and see where you are. Then decide if you want to work exclusively on love for a couple more week or add joy to the mix.
Starting any new project or activity can be frustrating. In order to become great at it though, we must persevere. It is no different with our walk with Christ.
It can seem like an impossible task, but when we break it down in small steps, it is made easier. Even when it seems like you are making no headway, keep pushing on.
Finally, surround yourself with other like-minded individuals (aka, the church). Having other people who are doing this journey with you, helps tremendously.
Decide you are going to live for Christ.
Don't try to change everything all at once.
Surround yourself with others
And persevere.
0 comments:
Post a Comment